Archive: FrackNation (2013)

FrackNation follows Irish journalist Phelim McAleer facing gun threats, malicious 911 calls, and bogus lawsuits after questioning green extremists (e.g., Gasland producer, Josh Fox) in his search for the truth about hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”)—a technique used routinely as an aid to stimulating production in oil and gas wells since the late 1940s. Recent innovation in drilling techniques (allowing successful gas production from rock formations formerly unproducible) can create horizontal pathways deep within the earth, and has incorporated hydraulic fracturing as an aid to release the fluids.

Though there are many concerns among groups in the US about hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), the opinions of some groups are quite polarized and more glaring than others. This article suggests consideration for perspectives not often heard in the ads and news items—those of climate scientists, local landowners, and others most affected by the decisions to advance or curtail gas drilling operations.